USA Today is reporting that Google will announce a new group dedicated to help develop the operating system of its rumored new device later today.

The group currently consists of Motorola, Sprint Nextel, Samsung, and Japanese service provider NTT DoCoMo who are also known for developing W-CDMA, the underlying standard behind UMTS and HSDPA.

The operating system will be based on Linux and Java underpinnings similar to MOTOMAGX by Motorola, while Google expects to have a device ready by next Spring, coincidentally the same timeframe stated by Sprint as the commercial launch of the XOHM WiMax mobile broadband service, Sprint has not officially stated whether or not it will carry the device, even though it is a member of the new working group.

Update: There’s no Gphone, but Read More for the full rundown on OHA, Android, and the launch of an SDK next week.

In a conference call today, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and the current leaders of Motorola, HTC, and Deutsche Telekom were on hand to announce the Open Handset Alliance and the Android development platform.

The Open Handset Alliance is composed of 34 Founding Members which comprise handset manufacturers, service providers, and software development houses all working together towards a stated shared goal of providing a completely different and more user-oriented experience than is currently possible on current devices.

This is where the Android software plaform comes in. The intent with this platform is to provide an entire suite of tools and software for developers to create software and test ideas while at the same time allowing a small developer the same tools and software with no restrictions on device access, which has been rare with standard handsets and conventional mobile software platforms.

This is expected to lead to an even playing field while still allowing for complete control over the way the device can be used

One of many GPhone mockup images

Devices using the Android platform are expected to be launched in the second half of 2008 with manufacturer support coming from companies such as LG, Motorola, Samsung, and HTC.

Carrier support is currently being provided by Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile USA, KDDI, China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo Telecom Italia, and Telefonica.

A preview version of the software development kit will be released on November 12th, with the platform and related software being licensed under the Apache license, ensuring that developers, service providers, and handset manufacturers have the ability to create proprietary software without being obligated to contribute the code.

Christopher Price is the Founding Editor of PhoneNews.com. Today, he leads the team building Console, Inc. - a new kind of Android™ device. He still likes to pontificate... a lot. You can visit his personal blog at ChristopherPrice.net.